Johannesburg – A judge has expressed shock that a budding gospel singer acted contrary to the principles of his religion and killed his girlfriend in the cruellest of ways.
Mr M, as Mpumalanga High Court Acting Judge Hein Brauckmann identified the murderer in his judgment, killed Carol Cindy Swayze on November 2, 2019 by driving over her.
Swayze was fleeing an angry Mr M as he chased her with her car. She succumbed to her injuries after being stuck under the vehicle for about 30 minutes.
The incident happened in Kromkrans, near Ermelo, where the couple cohabited. They had had a bitter quarrel over R1 200.
Judge Brauckmann sentenced Mr M to 19 years behind bars. He pleaded guilty during the trial, which concluded five days ago.
“Although Mr M did not carefully plan this crime, he formed the intent as soon as he saw the deceased running away,” the acting judge said.
The killer, 27, has recorded two albums singing about God. He made a living and supported his two children aged 8 and 2 from his career.
“Mr M, a gospel singer, acted contrary to all the tenets of Christianity,” said Judge Brauckmann.
“He betrayed the woman he purported to love and killed her in one of the cruellest ways possible.
“He used her own vehicle as a weapon to execute his murderous fantasy.”
Swayze was a 46-year-old mother of four, whom Mr M apparently believed was due to divorce her husband of 28 years.
“Men are not there to kill their lovers and the women in their lives,” said Judge Brauckmann.
“The deceased trusted Mr M so much she was prepared to leave her husband of 28 years, and as appears from Mr Swayze’s evidence, even her children. She did not deserve to be run over like a hare in the road by her lover for a minuscule amount of R1 200.”
Judge Brauckmann expressed distress the musician was guilty of “an offence that is disturbingly prevalent” in the Ermelo region.
“Most of the cases handled by this court are matters where men are charged for killing their wives, girlfriends and common-law wives,” he said.
“It is difficult to believe that men can get it past themselves to hurt their loved ones and eventually kill them in a way they would not even kill a vicious dog.”
The Star